1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zoom lens and an image pickup apparatus including the same, and more particularly, to a zoom lens suitable for use in a broadcasting TV camera, a video camera, a digital still camera, and a silver-halide film camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a zoom lens having a wide angle of field, a high magnification, and a high optical performance is desired for use in an image pickup apparatus such as a TV camera, a silver-halide film camera, a digital camera, or a video camera. As a high magnification zoom lens, there is known a four-unit zoom lens including a first lens unit having a positive refractive power, a second lens unit having a negative refractive power for varying magnification, a third lens unit having a positive refractive power for correcting image plane variation, and a fourth lens unit having a positive refractive power for image formation.
For instance, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-264458 discloses a zoom lens having a wide-angle end field angle of 60.93 degrees and a zoom magnification of approximately 96. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-40395 discloses a zoom lens having a wide-angle end field angle of 60.35 degrees and a zoom magnification of approximately 55.
The above-mentioned four-unit zoom lens is advantageous for achieving high magnification. On the other hand, in recent years, there is a demand for a wide angle also in a high-magnification zoom lens.
However, in order to achieve a high magnification, it is necessary to secure a large movable range of a magnification varying lens unit, and there is a tendency that a lens diameter of the first lens unit disposed closest to an object side becomes large. In addition, in order to achieve a wide angle, it is necessary to secure a large incident angle of light beam entering the lens, and there is also a tendency that the lens diameter of the first lens unit becomes large. In order to achieve both a wide angle and a high magnification and to suppress an increase of the lens diameter of the first lens unit, it is effective to arrange a position of a principal point of the first lens unit in an image side of the first lens unit. In this case, if the structure of the first lens unit is inappropriate, it becomes difficult to achieve both the arrangement of the principal point and correction of spherical aberration on a telephoto side or off-axial aberration on a wide angle side.